MK Wants Breslov Rebbe Nachman’s Grave in Israel

An MK wants the PM to discuss with the visiting Ukrainian president the idea of reburying revered Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Israel. <br/>

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Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, 30/11/11 13:02

The tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, in Uman

Israel news photo: Wikimedia Commons

Knesset Member Danny Danon wants Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss with the visiting president of Ukraine on Thursday the idea of reburying the revered Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Israel.

MK Danon said that he knows someone who has offered to finance bringing the remains from Ukraine, where tens of thousands of Israelis visit the grave of “Rebbe Nachman” every year.

Previous attempts to rebury the rabbi in Israel have failed.

“Hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are followers of Rabbi Nachman are not able to fly to Ukraine and visit his grave,” and reburying him in Israel would allow them to do so, said MK Danon.

Rabbi Nachman was born in 1772 and died only 38 years later. In his short life, he founded the Breslov Hassidic movement that attracted thousands of Jews, particularly those who felt inferior because they were not learned Torah scholars despite their deep faith in HaShem.

Rabbi Nachman visited Israel in 1798, a visit that had such a significant impact on him that he asked followers not to quote anything from him unless it was said or written after his trip to the country.

Before he died, he said that every Jew who visits his grave on Rosh HaShanah will be saved from evil even if someone “pulls his side locks.”

MK Danon told Prime Minister Netanyahu, ”We have a rare opportunity to do justice for Rabbi Nachman, for whom Israel was so important. Re-buying him in Israel will bring historic honor to the country that is the home of the Jewish people.”

The Knesset Member suggested that the Mount of Olives Cemetery opposite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a potential and central location for the reburial of Rabbi Nachman.